The Impact of Parents’ Subjective Preparedness on Their Children’s Post-Traumatic Symptoms Following Surgery

Fortu Benarroch, Rony Kapel Lev-Ari, Amichai Ben-Ari

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The role of parental factors in the emergence of post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSSs) following pediatric surgeries is well recognized, but the specific influence of parents’ subjective preparedness for their child’s surgery has not been explored. In a study involving 253 children hospitalized in a pediatric surgery ward, parents completed a demographic questionnaire during their child’s stay, which included the question, “As a parent, have you been prepared for the surgical intervention your child is undergoing?” Four months post-surgery, the same parents were interviewed using two questionnaires that evaluated their children’s post-traumatic symptoms. Our findings indicate that in emergency surgical settings, children whose parents felt prepared experienced significantly fewer PTSSs compared to children whose parents did not feel prepared. In contrast, for elective surgeries, parental subjective perception of preparedness did not significantly impact the children’s PTSSs. We conclude that for emergency surgical procedures, addressing parents’ subjective preparedness could be crucial. Further research is necessary to develop targeted interventions that leverage this insight to minimize the risk of PTSSs in children undergoing emergency surgeries.

Original languageEnglish
Article number780
JournalChildren
Volume11
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - 27 Jun 2024
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 by the authors.

Keywords

  • children
  • pediatric surgery
  • preparation
  • prevention
  • traumatic stress

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The Impact of Parents’ Subjective Preparedness on Their Children’s Post-Traumatic Symptoms Following Surgery'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this